News Round-up Week Ending 11 December

December 11, 2015

December 11, 2015

Here’s a selection of some of the horror and genre news that caught our eye this week…

FrightFest Presents Unveils Six New Titles

Right on the heels of their launch in October, horror label FrightFest Presents has announced their second wave of titles to be released. These handpicked titles, are set to be made available across multiple digital partners, including iTunes, Sky, Virgin Movies, Google Play, Amazon, Horrorshow, and more. The complete line-up includes: The Lesson, Last Girl Standing, Landmine Goes Click, Curtain, The Unfolding and Emelie.

Co-director of FrightFest, Alan Jones, had this to say about the latest wave of titles:

“Our initial slate set out the stall of what FrightFest Presents is all about and got the brand off to a flying start thanks to its diversity and ability to deliver the shocking goods for genre lovers. Now we are building on that strong foundation with six more un-missable titles that once more shines a light on our market uniqueness and ambition to build a catalogue of first class chillers that is second to none”

The first wave of FrightFest Presents films includes acclaimed festival favorites Aaaaaaaah!, The Sand, Night Of The Living Deb, Estranged, After Death and Some Kind of Hate. The films will be available for download from February 29, through March 14. Head HERE for all the details..

The Carrier Takes Off on DVD January 2016

Altitude Film Entertainment has announced the release of its latest title, The Carrier. Scheduled for release on 25 January 2016, this tale of an attempted escape from a devestating antibiotic resistant pandemic is directed by Anthony Woodley and stars Jack Gordon (Northern Soul, Love Me Do), Karen Bryson (The Bill, Cuffs, Shameless), and Edmund Kingsley (Stonehearst Asylum).

Here’s the official synopsis: A devastating infection spreads across the world, and as society crumbles and chaos erupts on the ground, those left behind soon realize their only chance for survival is to take to the skies. A cabin crew escapes on a damaged 747 bound for Greenland but not all the passengers are as healthy as they seem… When the plane is sabotaged, the ragtag group of survivors are forced to land in an England tearing itself apart and ravaged by disease. The crew are faced with impossible life or death decisions which force them to confront their past, face their fears and fight for their very survival.

IDW Picks Up Digital Horror Comic Series The Eighth Seal

IDW Publishing (Thirty Days of Night, Locke & Key) have recently picked up the rights to James Tynion IV (DC’s Talon) and Jeremy Rock’s “West Wing meets Rosemary’s Baby” internet horror comic The Eighth Seal. Tynion explains the hook of the series from an interview with www.comicbookresources.com:

“The main character of the story is the First Lady of the United States, Amelia Greene. She was a teacher at one time, but her life has been taken over by politics and doing these small, petty events all around DC and America that she doesn’t feel any connection to. She has this growing resentment in her that she’s not able to do the kind of work that she feels passionate about. She’s not able to make a difference anymore.

“What happens is that she starts to see things. She starts to see herself become this horrible monster and do these terrible, terrible things. The scary thing is, she feels so good when she has these visions — when she sees herself ripping people apart, it feels perfect. It’s the most exquisite feeling she’s ever known, and she’s just terrified that she’s going insane. She doesn’t know what’s brought this on. The medication she takes isn’t working, and there’s no way of predicting when this happens or what it means. It could happen to her at a public event or at any time. That’s where the story begins — with her talking about what she can do to stop this and the realization of this happening to someone at such a high level of the United States’ political world.

“We also introduce the idea that somebody may be doing this to her, and that’s the conspiracy theory side of this. That’ll all play out over the months to come, but that’s the heart of the story we’re telling. It’s this idea of ‘Is this insanity or the machinations of a larger machine? What do they hope to gain?’

You can check out a preview of The Eighth SealHERE and Comixology has the entire first story arc available for digital download from the original publisher Thrillbent. Of course, the IDW print edition is available at a comic book store near you.

The House On Pine Street Given Release Date

Second Site have announced a February 1st 2016 DVD release date for its much lauded haunted house thriller The House on Pine Street.

What with winning Best Feature Film at both the Kansas International Film Festival and New Orleans Horror Film Festival, and starring Emily Goss, who won Best Actress at Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival and Fargo Film Festival, this certainly looks one to keep an eye open for.

Here’s the official synopsis: After an unexpected mental breakdown, seven month pregnant Jennifer Branagan (Emily Goss – An Emotional Affair) reluctantly returns to her hometown in Kansas with her husband Luke for the arrival of their baby. Struggling to cope with fears of motherhood, a strained relationship with her husband and the presence of an overbearing mother, Meredith, Jennifer is losing control of her life.

But what begins with objects moving behind her back and unexplained knocking sounds, soon escalates into something far more sinister and threatening. Jennifer fears the house is haunted yet alone in her convictions, she is forced to question her own sanity. Is she losing her mind, or is there a dark entity within the house that is all too real?

Solo Media and Matchbox Films Schedule the Last Shift for January

Solo Media and Matchbox films have announced that Anthony DiBlasi (Dread, Cassadaga) directed supernatural chiller Last Shift for a January 2016 release.

Here’s the official synopsis: Rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy – The Walking Dead) has been assigned the last shift at a transitioning police station and must wait for a hazmat crew coming to pick up biomedical evidence. Ordered not to leave the station under any circumstance, Jessica comes to learn that it’s more than just an outdated station, its home to the ultimate embodiment of evil and his devoted blood thirsty followers. Jessica is left to fend for herself in the Devil’s playground.

Also staring Joshua Mikel (Nashville) and J. LaRose (Saw III , Saw IV), and written by Anthony DiBlasi and Scott Poiley, Last Shift hits DVD and digital January 18, 2016.

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